Fusion Inaugural Lecture – Limits of space and time: predicting how environmental change affects coastal birds

Ecological systems throughout the world are increasingly coming under threat from environmental changes, primarily caused by human actions. Understanding and predicting the effects of future change has proved a long-running problem for ecologists.

Coastal habitats, such as Poole Harbour, provide a vital habitat for many bird species but are particularly vulnerable to environmental change such as rising sea levels, habitat loss and disturbance from human activities. However, predicting the effect of such changes on these birds has proved difficult and has led to long-running conflicts between conservationists and other coastal groups.

Research by Professor Richard Stillman aims to reduce these conflicts by providing tools which enable the consequences of change to be accurately predicted. It does this by understanding the ways in which individual animals behave, the types of food they consume, how much they need to eat each day, and the ways in which human activities affect them.

During this inaugural lecture, Professor Stillman will explain how his research in this area has helped to predict the effects of changes in the UK and internationally and what it has meant for wildlife populations.

Doors open at 6:30pm and the lecture will begin at 7pm – tickets are free but booking is essential.

Ecological systems throughout the world are increasingly coming under threat from environmental changes, primarily caused by human actions. Understanding and predicting the effects of future change has proved a long-running problem for ecologists.

Coastal habitats, such as Poole Harbour, provide a vital habitat for many bird species but are particularly vulnerable to environmental change such as rising sea levels, habitat loss and disturbance from human activities. However, predicting the effect of such changes on these birds has proved difficult and has led to long-running conflicts between conservationists and other coastal groups.

Research by Professor Richard Stillman aims to reduce these conflicts by providing tools which enable the consequences of change to be accurately predicted. It does this by understanding the ways in which individual animals behave, the types of food they consume, how much they need to eat each day, and the ways in which human activities affect them.

During this inaugural lecture, Professor Stillman will explain how his research in this area has helped to predict the effects of changes in the UK and internationally and what it has meant for wildlife populations.

Doors open at 6:30pm and the lecture will begin at 7pm – tickets are free but booking is essential.

Book your tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/limits-of-space-and-time-predicting-how-environmental-change-affects-coastal-birds-tickets-59037963137?_eboga=1629113216.1495458698

PHSG 2nd Annual Conference: Poole Harbour Environment and Econmics

PHSG Marine Protected Areas Conference 2017

‘Poole Harbour provides both for a diverse ecology and a productive maritime economy. The Harbour is exceptional in the extent to which it illustrates the interface between environment and economics in the coastal zones of North West Europe. Positioned at the eastern end of the “Jurassic Coast” World Heritage Site, the entire Harbour has various conservation designations while at the same time providing for commercial shipping, motor yacht manufacture, fishing & aquaculture, tourism, a military base, and a range of other significant maritime industries. It also lies over an oil field, receives effluent from both a large conurbation and an agricultural catchment, and supports a variety of recreational activities, not least sailing and angling. These features along with the intensity with which they interact make Poole Harbour a powerful case study for the elucidation of sustainable development in practice.

Thirteen years ago the Poole Harbour Study Group held a conference which resulted in the book The Ecology of Poole Harbour. This 2018 conference aims to expand the scope of that and last year’s Marine Protected Areas conference, by examining the relationship between the environment and the economy which it supports.

The conference is part of the Poole Maritime Festival and among the events during the day Borough of Poole council will present key findings from their forthcoming marine supply chain mapping report.

Presentations (15 minutes), mini-presentations (3 minutes) and posters may examine any aspect of the Harbour environment and/or its maritime economy. Particularly welcome are contributions which engage with the interactions between the two, whether from business, policy, or conservation perspectives. Presentations may also cover aspects of the river catchment or Poole Bay which have direct implications for the Harbour itself. Contributions subsequently written up will be published in proceedings

For further general information please contact the Conference Secretary Dr Alice Hall A.Hall@bournemouth.ac.uk.

To submit, a presentation or poster proposal, please send a 50 word summary to PHSG Chair, John Humphreys (email jhc@jhc.co), who would also be happy to provide advice on any early stage presentation idea.

Poole Harbour Study Group has been encouraging and disseminating objective research on Poole Harbour for over twenty-five years. Members include all the main statutory organisations along with universities, NGOs and commercial enterprises.’

(Environment Agency, Dorset Wildlife Trust, IFCA, Phc)  

Poole Harbour Study Group

Poole Harbour Study Group

The Poole Harbour Study Group was founded in 1997 by a group of individuals interested in the recording of wildlife and other biological and scientific aspects of Poole Harbour.

Objectives of the group

To further the study of the physical and biological interests of Poole Harbour, by:

  • Maintaining a database and archive of studies of Poole Harbour;
  • Undertaking and encouraging further Harbour studies;
  • Acting as a centre for advice and information on the harbour;
  • Publishing studies and holding seminars and conferences;
  • Maintaining close links with the Dorset Environmental records Centre and other bodies with an interest in the harbour.

Organisation

Members of the Study Group have interests in birds, marine life, plants and vegetation communities, nutrient cycles, erosion and sedimentation and history of the Harbour. The PHSG is not affiliated to any statutory, commercial or charitable organisation. PHSG members are private individuals and from universities, RSPB, English Nature, Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency.

The group acts to centralise and encourage the dissemination of knowledge about the Harbour. but remains neutral about planning and other issues involving Poole Harbour.

In delivering these roles the PHSG remains objective, dispassionate and outside the political arena through which decisions must be made on the uses of the Harbour or restrictions on uses. The PHSG is not a pressure group and does not seek particular aims relating to conservation or development. Rather it seeks to encourage objective study and contribute to the usefulness and accessibility of the knowledge which can inform such decisions.

For more information visit their website here: PHSG